We can't stop laughing over this "commercial" about a new way to keep kids from napping in the car. If this product really existed, we'd buy it—bet you would, too.

It's official: Baby Einstein DVDs are not magic brain expanders, as many parents were led to believe.

Read No Einstein in Your Crib? Get a Refund (New York Times)  

From the article:

"Last year, lawyers threatened a class-action lawsuit for unfair and deceptive practices unless Disney agreed to refund the full purchase price to all who bought the videos since 2004. “The Walt Disney Company’s entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development,” a letter from the lawyers said, calling those claims “false because research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for very young children.”

The letter cited estimates from The Washington Post and Business Week that Baby Einstein controlled 90 percent of the baby media market, and sold $200 million worth of products annually.

The letter also described studies showing that television exposure at ages 1 through 3 is associated with attention problems at age 7."

Disney, who owns the Baby Einstein brand, announced that they would allow an exchange or a refund of their products. (Visit Baby Einstein.com for the detailed instructions.)

So -- who has Baby Einstein DVDs at home? Did you watch them often, and did you think they were educational? What do you think of the charges of "unfair and deceptive practices" against Disney?

 

Stacey Anvarinia, a mom in South Dakota, might be sentenced to five years in prison for breastfeeding while intoxicated. Police came to her house for an unrelated matter and noticed that she was drinking, and appeared drunk, while nursing. They called the local hospital to ask if this is unhealthy for a 6-week-old baby. (Duh. It is.) So the baby was taken out of her custody and yesterday she pled guilty to child neglect. The baby was technically put in danger, but do you think this constitutes child abuse? What’s your policy on drinking and nursing?

 

We love it when someone takes an ordinary object and re-imagines it as something else. We also love products that fold away for easy storage, since not all of us have space to spare. So in a way we were charmed by the Cardboard Album Customizable Cot. It’s industrial-chic! It’s recycleable! But then we noticed the price tag. It retails for about 184 euros…which is a little more than $250 American dollars. I have three cardboard boxes in my recycling bin right now that will do the trick -- gratis. Add to that the slacker-parent guilt you’d have watching your baby sleep in a cardboard box -- a notch below letting him sleep in a dresser drawer.

What do you think: ridiculous or innovative?